How smart is that piece of paper? The activity introduces the idea of computer programming as a list of instructions written by computer programmers. Two individuals play a game of Tic-Tac-Toe in which one follows the commands...

Will the real computer please stand up? The premise of this activity is for the class to ask questions to a human and to a computer and to determine which is which. The class asks a given set of questions, and the person playing the role...

Sexual harassment and sexual violence are by no means new issues. What has changed is the role of social media in these issues. This powerful and troubling lesson uses a specific rape case to launch research into a discussion of the...

The hunt is on! Provide young botanists with a list of eighteen plant-related questions and let them loose as they search for answers on corresponding fact cards. Perform this activity in the classroom or use it as an opportunity to take...

Let the sun shine as your young coders move the clouds across the sky while practicing animation coding skills in JavaScript. Younger learners may benefit from more guided help or a whole-class discussion before trying this coding...

Ever wonder how those neat painting applications work? Completing this coding activity will give you some insight. First, starting with a simple function that draws a small circle as the mouse moves around the screen, adjust the function...

Get some laparoscopic training without the pain with an activity that challenges class members to find out what it is like to perform laparoscopic surgery. Teams perform three different tasks and quantify their performance. The...

The second segment of a seven-part series reviews the challenge of determining whether gargling with salt water helps a sore throat. Individuals journal what they know about the challenge and what they are trying to figure out to...

Combine creativity and coding in an activity where you are free to create your own animal. Try for something recognizable or not, the design is up to your unique students. The challenge is to use variables and variable expressions so...

Learn about radiation, and what everyday items produce radiation, with a series of activities about heat transfer. Kids go over basic information about electromagnetic waves and ionizing radiation before performing several experiments...

It might be silly to determine the creep rate of putty but groups will enjoy making different formulations of silly putty and playing with them to understand how the different mixtures behave. The second part of the activity has groups...

As part of a career exploration and investigation, learners research the Internet for possible career options and identify what type of educational preparation is required for those careers, as well as possible salary options,...

What will your students choose to include in their explorer's treasure chest? Youngsters research an early European explorer and gather items to reflect their research, such as a detailed map of the explorer's voyages, portrait,...

Small groups use rubber bands to accelerate an Android device along a track of books. They collect the acceleration data and analyze it in order to determine the device's velocity. 

Ready to learn about machine learning? Pupils explore neutral networks and machine learning by analyzing the logic used in a single perceptron model. They consider its weaknesses and then use a multi-layer perceptron model to run...

Young geometers develop one of the fundamental properties of quadrilaterals (connecting side midpoints gives a parallelogram) in this short but thought-provoking exercise. Using a combination of hands-on techniques and abstract algebraic...

What exactly is the fiscal cliff? What are the effects of changing income tax rates and payroll tax rates? Your learners will begin by reading news articles and examining graphs illustrating the "Bush tax cuts" of 2001 and 2003. They...

Students study the criteria for evaluating web sites and use information found in authoritative web sites to create questions for a game of Jeopardy. They evaluate three different web sites, some with minor errors and some with major...

Visit the Magic Treehouse and take your class on a trip through time with a reading of the children's book Mummies in the Morning. Using the story to spark an investigation into Egyptian culture, this literature unit engages...

Create a small but useful little program that allows you move a dot with your mouse and see the coordinates change as the mouse moves.  Starting with a dot that moves with the mouse, add to this program the text of the points...

Create a list of your favorite foods while you practice writing text in JavaScript. Use fill, textSize, and text functions. This is a quick activity that helps solidify basic skills. Expand with additional challenges...

Animating an object by moving it across a computer screen can be accomplished by drawing the object repetitively, each time adjusting some aspect of the drawing slightly. This activity is an easy introduction to animation in JavaScript,...

A creative way bring autobiographical writing to your poetry unit or back-to-school curriculum, this lesson plan guides you through a bio poem activity. Kids use the graphic organizer to describe themselves using adjectives, things...

It’s poetry T.I.M.E! Individuals use the T.I.M.E. format (T = Title, thought, and theme;  I = Imagery and figurative language; M = music and sound; E = emotion) to study a poet, collect poems that have a similar theme, and create a...